Virgins Need Not Apply
by keeptheotherone
Summary: Bored with her routine life, Katie Bell arrives for a summer internship at the Romanian International Dragon Reserve only to find out an important qualification was left off the application form. Now it's up to Charlie Weasley to keep her safe.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This was originally written for the 2013 Charlie Ficathon on LiveJournal, and the plot bunny was inspired by a thread on the NaNoWriMo forums in November 2011: "How much beef does my dragon need to eat to maintain a virgin-free diet?" I was going to wait for Wednesday, to retrain you all after a long hiatus, but then I realized it's NaNo right now, and I thought, _what the heck_. Rated mature for a reason (although I have done the oh-so-tactful scene cut) and tipping toward "crack" on the humor scale. This is a three-chapter fic; I'll update the next two Wednesdays.

Also, hiiiii! I miss you guys!

* * *

Katie stood on a large rock, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of clear, fresh mountain air. Looking down over the valley, she felt a surge of excitement at the sight of the small collection of cabins and larger common buildings nestled against the mountainside. In the distance, a thin blue ribbon came from behind the mountain and curved around the camp before disappearing again. The anxiety that plagued her since she had picked up her Portkey was fading. This next month was going to be amazing.

"Katie? Katie Bell?"

Charlie Weasley stood next to the carved wooden sign for The Romanian International Dragon Reserve, and he looked even better than she remembered. His ginger hair was shaggy and a bit long, curling over his ears and collar, his skin was lightly tanned under his freckles, and his muscles positively bulged under plain cotton robes. His eyes were wide with surprise.

Katie jumped off the rock, landing lightly in front of him. "That's me. How are you, Charlie?"

"I thought you were working at Flourish and Blotts."

"I was," she said, picking up her rucksack and slinging it over her shoulder. "I needed a change of pace."

He frowned. "You don't decide to work with dragons on a whim, Katie. This is a dangerous job."

"Giant reptiles who breathe fire and have foot-long claws. I had no idea."

He cracked a smile and Katie's stomach fluttered, just like it had during her first year at Hogwarts when she'd been in awe of the good-looking Gryffindor Seeker.

"All right, then. Let's get you checked in."

Katie had come to the Reserve as one of the first participants in the new Center for Dragon Hatchling Observation and Protection. Due to the seasonal nature of mating, the Reserve only needed additional staff for a few months each year. The Center, or DHOP as the brochures referred to it, was taking fully qualified witches and wizards in one month rotations to assist with observing and documenting the incubation and hatching process. She would have very little contact with the mother dragons, but she was excited to see them in their natural habitat and explore the beautiful Romanian wilderness.

"How is your family?" Katie said.

"Proliferating like rabbits," Charlie said, leading the way between a gap in the evergreens. "Bill and Fleur just announced their third pregnancy, and Percy and Audrey had their first about—I guess Molly's six weeks old now."

"Aww. Do you have any pictures?"

"In my cabin. I'll show them to you."

"Angelina says George is doing well."

Charlie stepped over a cluster of tree roots. "I think so. She's good for him. Doesn't take any flak." He grinned at her over his shoulder, and Katie suppressed the fluttery feeling.

She was here for the dragons, not their keeper.

"That's Angelina," she said. "I saw in the _Prophet_ that Ginny is retiring."

He sighed. "Yeah. She's got the baby bug too, I think. I tried to talk her into staying one more season for an even five, but she said they didn't want to wait a whole other year before trying. It probably didn't help that she was holding baby Molly at the time."

Katie laughed. "No, probably not. Still, she couldn't have ended on a higher note."

"Top of the league, a European championship for England, and MVP three years running."

"Not that you're proud, or anything," Katie teased.

"We were pretty obnoxious at the awards ceremony," he admitted.

She could imagine. The Weasleys had never been shy about family. They had reached the valley floor now, and Charlie headed for the largest building. There was a sign over the door, but it was written in what Katie assumed to be Romanian.

"This is the mess hall," Charlie said, opening the door and waiting for her to walk in ahead of him. "Dormitories in the back and offices along the side. The other large building is the laboratory, where you'll be working most of the time. Come on, I'll introduce you."

()()()()

Katie kept pace with Charlie as they climbed a steep path up the mountain. They had been hiking for about twenty minutes, crossing one end of the valley and winding around the mountain opposite the Reserve before emerging onto a flattened area. The granite rocks which ringed the clearing looked as if they had been arranged deliberately, as if for a giant's campfire. She shook off her memories of the giants at the Final Battle and picked her way through the rubble to the edge of the drop-off. There, about thirty feet below them, was a sleeping dragon with dark green scales and a long, glittering horn between its oddly small ear flaps. Little puffs of smoke rose from its nostrils as it snored.

"Ohhh," she breathed. "He's beautiful."

"A Romanian Longhorn," Charlie said. "He's been here longer than the Reserve."

She shifted, trying to get a closer look, and a small shower of rocks bounced down the cliff. The dragon's ears twitched and his nostrils flared once, then twice. He blinked his eyes open and raised his head, looking directly at them.

"Steady," Charlie murmured. "Don't move."

She couldn't have moved again if she tried. What had been a beautiful, majestic creature was now a fierce predator with blazing black eyes. The Longhorn sat up, stretching his long neck and sniffing the air. He opened his mouth, revealing pointed white teeth (Katie had the absurd thought that they should be yellowed from age), but instead of flame, it was the dragon's pink tongue, as wide as the boulders behind them, that was extending towards her. She felt Charlie's arms close around her and then the suffocating pressure of Apparition.

()()()()

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Charlie shouted.

"With me?" Katie clung to his arms for a moment to steady herself, then pushed off. "What the hell is wrong with that dragon? He just tried to _lick_ me!"

"Katie, haven't you—" Charlie felt his neck and ears growing warm. "Haven't you ever … you know … been with a man?"

She gaped at him, then drew herself up to her full height. "I hardly see how that's any of your business."

"Well, I think it is, considering that _dragons eat virgins_! We stock the Reserve with deer, some sheep and goats, cattle if we can get them, but there's not a dragon in the world that will eat an animal when a human female virgin is within roasting distance! What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

Her mouth opened and closed helplessly. "I—I—oh, Merlin." Katie covered her face with her hands.

Charlie sighed. "It's a good thing you didn't unpack yet. Come on, I'll explain to Natalis and give you the instructions for Flooing to London."

She dropped her hands. "I don't want to go home!"

"You can't stay here," he said flatly. "That dragon smelled you, he saw you, he damn near tasted you. He'll come hunting."

She paled, bluebell eyes widening. He had Apparated them the short distance to the top of the trail just below the crest of the ridge, and as he turned to go back to camp, Charlie heard her footsteps following behind him. It really was a pity. He had his doubts about DHOP, accepting untrained staff for such a short period of time, but he couldn't deny that he had enjoyed visiting with someone from home and had been looking forward to spending the next few weeks with Katie.

She was cute too. He didn't remember her from Hogwarts; he had been a seventh year and much too busy with Quidditch and N.E.W.T.s to pay attention to the first years, but he had followed the Gryffindor Quidditch team while his siblings were playing. He had seen her name in the sports section, heard Fred and George and Ron talk about her skills as Chaser, and Ginny, especially, had commented how much she enjoyed playing with Katie. Charlie remembered something else he'd seen in the sports section.

"What about Oliver Wood?"

"What about him?"

"Weren't you two going out a few years ago?"

"I am not giving you the details of my dating experience, Charlie."

Six years behind him … that would make her about twenty-four. Twenty-four years old and still a virgin. That was … impressive. Anyone with eyes could see that it was Katie's choice; she must have had loads of wizards who were interested in her. Charlie stole a look at her over his shoulder under the pretense of making sure she was keeping up. She was really cute, with big blue eyes and dark hair cut in a chin-length bob that swung as she moved. She was fit too, climbing up and down the mountains with ease and dodging hanging branches and uneven ground with athletic grace. Not to mention she was friendly, intelligent (well, other than the dragon/virgin fiasco), a Quidditch fan; he sighed again. It really was a shame….

()()()()

"What do you mean, she must go home? She only just arrive!" Natalis Kuczenski, the Head Dragon Keeper, drew his thick eyebrows together in a disapproving line.

Katie's hopes rose. Maybe he would overrule Charlie. After all, she wouldn't be working with the adult dragons directly, just their eggs and hatchlings. Surely that dragon couldn't sniff her out from inside a building.

"The old Longhorn, the one who lives just across the mountain?"

Natalis nodded.

"He tried to lick her."

Natalis turned his frown on Katie. She shifted in her chair.

"You are virgin? No virgins allowed on Reserve. Is rule."

"But I won't be on the Reserve, not really," Katie said. "I'll be working in the laboratory."

Natalis did not look convinced. "Dragons eat virgins. Everyone know this. Too dangerous."

Charlie stood up. "I'll see her out. We're sorry to have bothered you."

"Wait." Natalis raised one hand. "Sit."

Charlie sat.

"You say you know her from before, yes? She go to school with your brothers, yes?"

"Yes, but—"

Natalis leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows back in place. "Problem solved."

Katie glanced at Charlie, but he looked as confused as she felt. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand."

"Tonight, you stay with Weasley. Tomorrow, you no longer virgin. Problem solved."

Katie and Charlie gaped, both shocked speechless.

Natalis was unfazed. "I will give you day off." He held up two stubby fingers. "Report in two days, yes?"

"That's really not—" Katie began, but stopped when Charlie stepped on her foot.

Natalis fixed her with a business-like stare. "Weasley or England. You choose."

Before she could come up with an appropriate reply, Charlie had pulled her out of her seat. She looked back at Natalis, but he had already picked up the scroll he was reading when they arrived.

"Get your stuff," Charlie said as soon as he closed the office door behind them. He was looking anywhere except at her. "I'll write down the directions to Floo to The Leaky Cauldron. It's about a dozen transfers."

"I don't want to go home."

"Katie," he said, running a hand through his hair and exposing the red tips of his ears, "you can't stay here."

"I'll understand if you want me to go," she said carefully. "But I want to stay."

He was looking at her now.

()()()()

This was a Bad Idea. Charlie knew that. The trouble was, the more he thought about spending the night —and day, and night again—with Katie, the better an idea it seemed. Which just reinforced the fact that this was a Very Bad Idea.

But she was cute, she was definitely of age, and she was apparently willing. The only remaining criteria was—

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"No."

Charlie noticed she didn't ask him the question in return, just watched him steadily with those wide, bluebell eyes.

"I don't know where chivalry plays into this, but you've got daring and nerve, all right."

"Of course it's chivalrous. You're saving me from the big, bad dragon." She batted her eyelashes.

He grinned and jerked his chin in the direction of the dormitories. "Go get your stuff. We'll have dinner at my place."

Katie looked horrified, and for one heart-stopping second, Charlie thought he'd misunderstood.

"I can't stay at your place," she whispered, despite the fact they were the only ones in the corridor. "Everyone will know!"

"Katie, there's a grand total of maybe fifty people here. Everyone knows everything about everybody. Sometimes even before it happens."

Still, she hesitated.

"Do you want to do this in the dormitory?"

"No!"

"Do you want to go home?" _Don't chicken out on me now, Gryffindor girl._

She shook her head.

"All right, then. Get your stuff."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Um, can you tell I haven't done this for a while? Totally forgot it was Wednesday until I stumbled out of bed this afternoon and checked my calendar to see what I'm doing at work tonight. Sorry, everyone-hopefully I'll get back in the groove as I have a George/Angelina drabble collection coming after this, and I also found a deleted scene from "Too Friendly" I want to post to OBHWF :)

 **OfWhizzFizzing** : FF did that stupid thing where it shows me your name but thinks you're a guest, so I was unable to reply to your incredibly lovely comments. I really can't imagine a better compliment; I'm still beaming over here :D Thank you very much!

* * *

Katie followed Charlie into his cabin, unsure what to expect. It was small but not cramped, with a kitchenette to the left, a comfortable sitting area to the right, and a large sleigh bed behind that. She turned away from the bed immediately, and her gaze landed on the mantel over the fireplace.

"Goodness, Charlie, what are you going to do when they all have kids?" The mantel was crowded with photos from end to end, most of them showing various stages of the same little girl with silver-blonde hair and blue eyes. "Who's this?" Katie held up a photo of the little girl giggling as Charlie played peek-a-boo from behind a door.

He glanced over. "That's my goddaughter, Victoire."

"Bill and Fleur's oldest?"

"Yes. What do you want for dinner? I've got stew leftover from yesterday, or there's fresh bread for sandwiches…."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly eat," Katie said, placing one hand on her butterfly-filled stomach and studying a photo of Mrs. Weasley holding a swaddled newborn; it was impossible to tell which child.

"Tea it is, then," Charlie said. "Or do you want something stronger? Fleur gave me a bottle of wine last Christmas." He began opening and closing cupboard doors.

"Anything is fine." She continued looking at the photographs, which included a mixture of children with various Weasleys, Ginny in Quidditch gear, and several family Christmas photos. There were a few pictures of Charlie and some of the other dragon keepers, but no one that looked like a girlfriend.

"This is baby Molly." Charlie picked up a frame from the far end and passed it to her, along with a glass of red wine. "Percy, obviously, and that's his wife, Audrey."

"She looks radiant." Katie took a large gulp of wine.

"She's so far out of his league, we all thought he'd Confunded her at first, but she's stuck around."

"Don't be mean," Katie chided, but he just smiled at her.

"You don't mind, do you?" He held up a fat sandwich in one hand, one bite already missing.

"Of course not."

"Here, sit down." He cleared a stack of magazines—was that a comic?—from one end of the sofa, grabbed a pillow from where several were stacked at the opposite end, and brushed a few crumbs off the cushion. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I wasn't expecting company."

"It's fine," Katie said as she sat down. "Neater than my flat, at any rate."

Charlie sat right beside her and propped his feet onto the coffee table, which looked to be his old Hogwarts trunk. "You live in London?"

"Hogsmeade. I wanted to get away from home but still be somewhere familiar, and I don't like big cities."

"Why the change?"

"What?" Katie was feeling a little lightheaded. Which, she was sure, had more to do with the half-glass of wine she had consumed in the last two minutes than the wizard brushing shoulders with her. Nevertheless, she took another large drink.

He swallowed another bite before answering. "You said you needed a change."

"Oh. Well, I … I looked at my calendar a couple of months ago and realized what was supposed to be a summer job to clear my head after the war had turned into five years of my life. I don't want to be a shop girl forever, so…." She spread her hands. "Here I am."

Charlie set his empty plate on the makeshift trunk-table and turned to face her. Merlin, he was close, close enough for her to see the reddish-blonde of his lashes.

"What do you want to do?"

Katie let her head fall back, and it landed on his outstretched arm. "No idea. But I know I don't want to be stuck in a shop or an office all day. I like being outside. And I miss flying. I went to one of Ginny's matches with Angelina and George last spring and nearly cried when I realized I couldn't remember the last time I was on a broomstick. I just—" She took a deep breath, only to inhale Charlie's scent, a mixture of pine and soap and something she could only describe as _male_.

Okay, so maybe not all the dizziness was coming from the wine….

She stood up. "I changed my mind."

()()()()

Charlie conked heads with Katie as they both bent over to pick up the throw pillow that was knocked to the floor.

He grabbed the side of his head and groaned. "All you had to do was say so. You don't have to knock me out."

"No!" She was holding the pillow like a shield and turning a delightful shade of pink. "No, I just—I just meant about dinner. Food. I changed my mind about eating. I'd like to—I'd like a sandwich, please." She set the pillow down and fussed with it, avoiding his eyes.

"Katie, we don't have to do this."

"No, it's okay. I mean, it's okay with me. Unless you don't want to. Which is okay too, I can—I can go … if you like…." She twisted her hands together.

Of course she was nervous. She'd never done this before. Charlie took her hands in both of his. "I don't want you to go, I just want you to be sure. You've waited all this time. I don't want you to have any regrets."

She looked up at him, and although she was still blushing, her gaze was steady. "I'm sure."

"Because this isn't some perfect romance. I'm not—"

"Looking for a relationship, I know. This is about me having a chance to do something different, something that matters, without being mistaken for a dragon's pillow mint."

Charlie traced the backs of her hands with his thumbs and pulled her a little closer. "Please tell me you don't really want a sandwich."

Those bluebell eyes flickered to his mouth, then back up. "Maybe later," she whispered, and she closed the distance between them.

Well, Katie had definitely done this before. He should have known—would have known, if he'd stopped to think about it—that being a virgin didn't make her an innocent, but it was a relief to feel the experience in her kiss. She dropped his hands, linking her fingers behind his neck and leaning into him, and Charlie wrapped his arms around her, just enjoying the feel of a woman. She deepened the kiss and he responded, exploring her mouth, running his hands over her back. She tasted of wine and something sweeter, and when he took a couple of steps backwards, feeling for the sofa, she walked with him. He sat down and she straddled his lap without hesitation, hooking one elbow behind his neck and sliding her other hand into his hair. Charlie moaned as she massaged his scalp and continued the kiss as if breathing were a mere luxury. He let his hands drop below her waist, cupping her bum and snugging her against him, and still she didn't protest, simply hummed into his mouth.

"You've been holding out on me," he said breathlessly.

She smirked. "I only said I was a virgin. Anything else came from your imagination." She captured his mouth again, this time sliding her hands inside the neck of his robes.

But she didn't get far; true wizard robes were a pain in the arse. They would both have to stand up for him to take them off properly, and since he was not inclined to let go of her, he reached into his pocket, grasped his wand, and Vanished them, leaving himself wearing nothing but his pants. Katie jerked in surprise.

But Charlie didn't give her a chance to pull away. Keeping one hand on the small of her back, he held the back of her head, kissing her expertly, and she relaxed, running her hands over his newly exposed shoulders, down his arms, and up again, tracing his collarbones with her thumbs before sliding down over his chest. He softened his kiss, feathering her mouth before moving along her jaw. She tipped her head, and he sucked gently on her pulse point. He felt her nails dig into him as her fingers flexed.

"Oh, Charlie…."

Trusting her to remain in place now, he reached down and grasped her ankles, working his hands under her robes and sliding them up. Katie shifted as he pulled the fabric from beneath her and then up over her head.

She had done this before too, been nearly naked with a man. It showed in the way she didn't cover herself up, the way she let him look his fill.

"You have art!"

"What? Oh, her." She glanced down at her left hip, where a lion cub tattoo was exposed by the high cut of her knickers.

Charlie trailed one finger over the lioness's back. She tucked her head and put a paw over her nose, hiding her face.

"She's shy," Katie said apologetically.

He stroked the tattoo again, and the lioness flicked her tail, peering over her paw. "She's adorable."

"He's beautiful." Katie's hand was on his shoulder again, tracing the outline of the Chinese Fireball that was the mark of his first full-grown dragon, raised by him from egg to adulthood. Her fingers followed the wings that spread onto his chest and back before imitating the long tail that wrapped around his neck.

He framed her face in his hands and kissed her again. Katie responded immediately, leaning into his touch, letting her thighs slide a little farther apart so she rested more intimately against him.

"Come to bed with me," he whispered.

()()()()

He had managed not to collapse on top of her, but it was a near thing. Charlie had been surprised by women in bed before, but he hadn't expected _that_ , not from Katie's first time. His arm had fallen across her stomach; she was still breathing hard, just like he was. Actually, there was something funny about her breathing, almost as if—

With tremendous effort from muscles that felt like water, Charlie pushed himself onto his back and reached for her. She rolled towards him, burying her face in his neck. She was trembling, breathing in the stuttering gasps he associated with imminent tears, but there was no wetness on his shoulder. If he had been surprised by the force of her orgasm, Katie must have been stunned. He rubbed her back in long, firm strokes.

"Take some deep breaths. You're all right."

Her body calmed as she followed his advice. He continued with the long strokes, enjoying the feel of her skin, smooth and unblemished, warm and slightly damp. She was a little thing; his hand almost completely spanned the width of her back.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was muffled against his neck.

"For what, inexperience? There's no shame in that." He let his hand slide down over the curve of her bum. "Besides, you're a natural."

She finally raised her head to look at him. She was a little flushed, whether from her climax or his teasing, he couldn't tell. He kissed her, a simple kiss to reassure.

"Thank you. For—for letting me stay, and … everything."

"The pleasure was all mine, Katie."

 _That_ was definitely a blush, but she smiled before nestling on his shoulder again. "Not completely."

He kissed the top of her head and slid away from her.

"Where are you going?"

"Just to the loo. And maybe to make you a sandwich."

"Oh, please," she said, sitting up with the sheet held to her chest. "I'm starving."

"Thought you might be."

"Shut up."

Charlie dodged her swat, picked up his clothes, and crossed to the bathroom. He finished quickly but stayed where he was so Katie would have time to get dressed. When he opened the door, she stood just the other side of it in athletic shorts and a white cotton vest that did nothing to hide her spectacular breasts. It wasn't until she cleared her throat that he realized he was blocking the doorway.

"Sorry, I'll just—er, sandwich…."

Katie smiled knowingly and brushed past him. _Dinner_ , Charlie reminded himself, ignoring the memory of her tit in his mouth, her breathy little moan. _With real food._

And maybe chocolate sauce for afters.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie entered his cabin the next morning to find Katie sitting in front of his bookshelf, one book open in her hands and half a dozen more scattered on the floor.

She looked up as the sunlight streamed over her, but he had the sense she wasn't paying him any attention. She certainly didn't ask about the broomsticks he carried.

"Don't you have any human potion books?"

"What for? The infirmary is well-stocked."

She slammed the book closed. "Because I can't remember how long after sex you can take Contraceptive Potion and still have it be effective!"

"It doesn't matter. I put a dose in your wine last night."

She froze for several seconds before setting down the book.

Charlie sighed and set the broomsticks by the fireplace. He had been hoping, considering they had less than forty-eight hours together, they could avoid any awkward conversations, but he could see Katie putting the pieces together in her mind.

"But you didn't know we were going to be together. Which means you already had it available. Which means—"

"I have no intentions of fathering a child and acted accordingly."

"Which means," she continued, standing up, "you were expecting to have sex with someone else."

"It is not unusual for me to invite a witch to spend the night. You knew that before you even showed up here."

Her eyes flashed; she did not like being reminded of the truth. "I suppose you're the Reserve's go-to guy for virgins," she said. "Every time one shows up to work here, you get called to break her in. Nice _perk_ , Charlie."

"Would you listen to yourself? Virgins don't show up to work here. It's a _dragon reserve_. Anyone with half a brain would know—"

"Oh, now you're calling me stupid?"

Her hands were clenched into fists, and despite stepping closer to him, most of the books were still within her reach—and quite heavy. He doubted her throwing ability had faded much since she stopped playing Chaser, so he took a small step backwards.

"No, I'm just saying you did this on impulse. The DHOP program is new. Every other witch who has come to the Reserve has planned to come here, usually for years. Every other witch has come here because she wanted to make studying dragons a career. If a virgin applied for a dragon keeper position, we'd laugh her out of camp."

Her weight shifted, one bare foot tapping impatiently. Charlie approached her slowly.

"Come on, Katie, don't be a hypocrite. You weren't complaining last night."

She glared, bluebell eyes narrowing.

"You stayed because you knew I could take care of you and I did. Don't hate me for that."

"I don't hate you."

"No?" He was close enough to touch now and he did so, reaching out to tuck her hair behind one ear. She shook her head to dislodge it.

"You really put Contraceptive Potion in my drink?"

"I really did." He didn't touch her again, just stood inside her space, waiting for her to unknot. "With my family history, I don't take chances."

There it was, a tiny uplifting of her mouth.

"What if the wine counteracts it or something?"

"Katie, if alcohol neutralizes Contraceptive Potion, there would be a lot more babies in this world," he said dryly.

"I reckon so," she admitted. "What's up with the broomsticks?"

"We need to find the Longhorn before he comes into camp looking for you."

()()()()

"You want to brag to a dragon?" Katie raised one eyebrow and was amused to see color climbing up Charlie's neck.

"It's not bragging. It's self-preservation. I told you. He'll come hunting unless he finds out you're no longer, er—"

"On the menu?"

He grinned and handed her a broomstick. "Something like that. Get your shoes. We're going to fly over the clearing where we saw him yesterday, but I suspect he's moved to a cluster of caves on the other end of the valley. When you see him, fly low, but no closer than twenty or thirty feet, and be quick about it. Don't linger and don't bob around. We can't outfly a dragon."

She shuddered. She had no intention of teasing the dragon into chasing her as Harry Potter had done in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"Can you do that?" Charlie said seriously, and Katie remembered her comment about not flying in a long time.

"I can do it." She had played Quidditch, and played it well, for years, not to mention flying with her father as a child. All Charlie was asking her to do was a simple dive and climb without even a Quaffle to worry about.

Just a monstrous, fire-breathing dragon.

"Is he going to try to lick me again?" She followed Charlie out of the cabin and closed the door behind her.

"No. There's something in the scent of a virgin that they're able to detect, and they confirm it by taste. He'll smell the difference." He stopped suddenly with his broomstick hovering in mid-air, ready for him to mount. "You haven't showered yet, have you?"

She shook her head. Her first thought on awakening, even before she opened her eyes, was that she had forgotten to do anything to protect herself. She had thrown on the first clothes she could find, her discarded vest and athletic shorts from dinner the night before, and begun searching for information.

"Good. My scent will still be on you."

Katie flushed but copied Charlie's movements and kicked off. They crossed the valley in seconds, rounded the mountain, circled around the rock-strewn overhang above the empty clearing, and doubled back. As they approached a bend in the river, she saw the caves, and hidden in the crevice between two mountains was the green dragon. With his snout stretched out and his wings relaxed, he looked larger than she remembered as he lay sunning himself in the long grass. Charlie drew up and Katie hovered beside him.

"Remember, no closer than about thirty feet. And don't forget to allow for the length of his neck."

She nodded, already estimating the distance.

"Ready?"

She nodded again and wiped her sweaty hands.

"All right, Gryffindor girl, let's see what you've got."

Katie dipped her broomstick handle. She was well into her dive when Charlie whistled, and the sleeping dragon raised his head and spotted her. Heart pounding, she gripped the broomstick tighter still, eyes focused on the point where she needed to pull up. Not yet … not yet … _now_!

Katie yanked with all her might and felt the broom respond even as the dragon gave a deafening roar. Higher and higher she climbed, not turning until she felt the chill of higher elevation. Charlie was a tiny dot above the salamander of a lizard. Breathing hard, she angled into a more moderate dive and pulled up beside him.

"He doesn't look happy," she observed.

The Longhorn had left his sunny spot by the river and entered the largest cave snout first, leaving his hindquarters hanging out the opening of the cave and his thick tail flopping in a wide arc. The branches of nearby pines shook every time his tail hit the ground. Her gaze fell on a bare patch of earth between the cave and the river.

"Is that—"

"Where he tried to roast me, yeah."

"But he'll leave us—me—alone now?"

"Provided we get out of his space and don't interfere with his next meal."

"Absolutely."

Now that she wasn't worried about being eaten, Katie could appreciate the beauty of the day, the wind in her hair, the hum of her broomstick, the simple joy of flying. She flashed Charlie a smile and took off again. They flew all over the valley, racing each other up steep mountainsides, circling around clusters of trees, rolling above and below the other, first Katie in the lead, then Charlie, playing on more even terms than they had been since she arrived. They had been flying low over the river for several minutes, following its twists and turns away from the camp, when Charlie shouted.

"Jump!"

"What?" Katie yelled back, the wind loud in her ears.

"Jump!"

And when she hesitated, he leapt from his broomstick onto hers, plunging them both into the shimmering blue water.

Katie surfaced, spluttering and shivering. "Charlie Weasley, you _bloody_ prat!" She swept her hand across the water in a wide arc, sending a wall of water directly at him.

He shook his wet hair out of his face and laughed _—_ laughed!

"What if I couldn't swim?"

"Then I would have saved you from the big, bad river," he said.

Katie splashed him again. They were both treading water in the gentle current, though she didn't know how long she could keep it up with numb feet.

"What on earth possessed you to knock me into the river?"

He drifted closer. "It sounded like fun."

"And do you always do whatever fun idea pops into your brain?" She was breathless, and from more than just the cold.

"Pretty much."

She shouldn't be surprised by his impulsiveness, not when he had agreed so quickly to Natalis's suggestion. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the Contraceptive Potion. Relieved, definitely. Grateful, to some degree, yet … oddly resentful. At his presumption, at his smoothness, at his deception. She would have drunk the potion if he'd simply handed it to her, although she was honest enough to admit the blatant reminder probably would have increased her nerves, and it had been obvious Charlie was trying to reduce them. And was experienced enough to succeed. It rankled, proof positive of his prowess while she felt like the clumsy schoolgirl. But he was right, she had not only known about his experience with women, but stayed because she valued it.

Which only made him more annoying.

Arms extended to the side, constantly moving underwater, their chests were nearly touching. She could feel his robes brushing her legs. Katie looked up into his face, which instead of being level with hers was tilted downward, looking at her through the clear water, and she knew why he had pushed her off her broomstick. And … she didn't care, not really. She had this one chance, less than a day left, and despite her choice to wait, she wasn't a prude. It would be foolish to waste time arguing when they could be doing so many other things….

Katie dipped her head and kissed him, warm and soft. Distracted, his arms instinctively circling her, they began to sink. She pushed herself up by his shoulders, causing Charlie to tilt his head back as the water lapped his chin.

She laughed. "Come on."

She turned and swam for shore, but with two powerful strokes, he pulled ahead of her. Charlie stood as soon as he reached the shallows but fell almost immediately, tripping on his robes. With a muffled expletive he pulled them off, and what little breath hadn't frozen in Katie's lungs left them completely.

He was nude underneath, rising from the water like some kind of sea god, and Katie welcomed the chance to ogle unobserved. The red dragon tattooed over his left shoulder was curled up against the cold, wings tightly furled and snout tucked out of sight. Charlie's hair had darkened to russet and water dripped from the ends, running down the smooth line of his back. She watched the flex of muscles as he climbed up the bank, envying the droplets' contact with his skin, the way they traced tight buttocks and powerful thighs, all the way down his calves to the back of his ankles. He was gorgeous, fit and muscular everywhere she looked, and Katie had forgotten how to swim.

He bent down and stretched out one hand and she grasped it, warm and solid compared to the intangible chill of the water. She knew the air was significantly warmer, but she shivered as goosebumps prickled her arms and legs. Her hair was plastered to her head, her shorts bunched between her legs, her feet squished in soaked trainers, but Charlie was staring at her chest again.

Katie glanced down. Her white vest was completely transparent, clinging to her shape and outlining sharp pink nipples.

"You have," he breathed, "the most spectacular breasts…." He cupped one in his hand, taking its weight, and she shivered again, not from the cold, but from the warmth of his touch. "I've been imagining this since you first walked into the bathroom last night."

"You should have asked."

He looked up at her, amused. "You would have got in the shower with your clothes on?" He still had her breast in his hand and massaged it lightly.

"If you'd asked."

She saw the question reflected in his eyes and let it hang between them, unanswered.

 _What else would she do if he asked?_

"You're beautiful."

She wasn't, not really; not the kind of beautiful Charlie Weasley would be accustomed to. But he was kissing her again, one hand wrapped around her breast, his thumb stroking its curve, and with him hard against her thigh, Katie didn't argue. Charlie stretched the neckline of her shirt down, then reached inside and lifted out one breast. The wet fabric caught underneath it like a sling, pushing it up. Katie gasped; the warmth of his hand was nothing like the heat of his mouth, and she arched into his touch.

"Charlie…."

He raised his head, kissing his way back up to her mouth, lingering on the pulse point in her neck, and she grabbed his shoulders as the world tilted, threatening to throw her back into the river.

"Have you ever made love outdoors?"

She let her hands slide from his shoulders down over his chest, heavily muscled and lightly dusted with hair the same reddish-blonde as his lashes. "You know I haven't."

He grasped her hands and started backing up, leading them away from the muddy riverbank, past the edge of the tree line, and into a small sunlit glade. Katie wondered how many other women he had brought to this spot but suppressed the thought. Charlie was a generous and considerate lover, and he was hers for now. She tugged on his hand and he turned, kissing her deeply, sliding his hands under the waistband of her shorts and knickers and dragging them off. She made to pull off her shirt but he stopped her, holding both wrists in one big hand.

"Leave it," he said, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth. "Please?"

Smiling, she kissed him again, and he released her hands. Katie melted into his touch, enjoying the feel of his skin, smooth and then rough with scars, his stubble coarse against her neck, his hands cradling her head, changing the angle of the kiss. She pressed her body closer to his, and he broke away to lower both of them to the mossy forest floor. Propped on one elbow, he traced his hand over the curves of her body before leaning in to kiss her again, his words muffled against her mouth.

"Merlin, I love dragons."


End file.
